What your church gets wrong about Easter: Part Three
What your church gets wrong about Easter: Part Three
It was Augustine (354-430 A.D.) who summarized life by stating, "Love God, and do what you will." His words were not an invitation to hedonism, but instead were recognition of Jesus' promise that his call was not a burden.
The Apostle Paul would state, "You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). To understand Augustine and Paul's meaning we have to go back to the words of Norman Grubb from part one, "You can't live the Christian life."
Ask people what they believe religion is about and eventually you will come to a discussion about what they believe is right and wrong and which rules you supposedly have to follow.
Yet when Jesus declared "It is finished" from the cross, his words could not have been clearer. As Paul stated, "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Everything that needed to be done for salvation was completed in Christ. As Jesus shared, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).
The writer of Hebrews would proclaim it like this; "By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (Hebrews 10:14).
Or consider the book of Romans simple declaration; "We died to sin" (Romans 6:2).
In statement after statement, all in the past tense, scripture reaffirms over and over that it is finished. This is not some future promise but a present day reality in Christ.
When we apprehend by revelation the promise of "This mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27) and recognize that we have died and our life is hidden in Christ we can then understand that now in him we are "the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21).
What does this mean in plain English? Simply put, in Christ you cannot sin regardless of how many guilt trips you put on yourself or others place on you in their own religiosity.
The Apostle also stated, "I died to the law" (Gal. 2:19), which cannot be separated from his statement, "The power of sin is the law" (1 Cor. 15:56).
Where does sin gain it strength? From the law, the lists of do's and don'ts people constantly talk about. Why? Because people try to keep rules, even biblical "rules" they can't possibly keep and end up condemning themselves by their believed failure.
The gospel message, the promise of the resurrection of Jesus is that in his sacrifice sin was destroyed, and by his perfect life now lived in us we are righteous and already perfect and holy by his offering. We do nothing but receive the promise by his grace.
You can't live the Christian life. You were never meant to, only Jesus can and now in you he does without your help because it is finished.
Still don't believe it? Hold onto your hats for part four when we see what purpose the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments really serve and answer the question on everyone's mind, "If I can't sin, then why do I keep on sinning?"
Vital Elements To Consider When Selecting Jacuzzis 8 step process Bowflex 552 Dumbbells The Perfect Partner Canadian Gift Card Swap Are You Looking For Ways To Increase Your Rankings? You Are In The Right Place! What to do if Poas Volcano's crater is not visible Feodor Skripchenko – The Legend of Chess Turn A Basic Tutu Into An Amazing Ballet Costume How to choose the right salon Can Vitamin E Deal With Gastric Ulcer? Rising Interest Rates = Rising Property Value Easy to use Front Load Washers Before You Buy a Turbo Kit